Flames of Rebellion A Medieval Romance

Civil War Once Again Threatens England in the Medieval Historical, THE FLAMES OF REBELLION, by Mary Ellen Johnson

1397 to 1403. England, Tintagel, London, Shrewsbury, Conway Castle, Tower of London, Cumbria, Westminster Abbey, Wales and Scotland

In the fourteenth century’s waning days, the tyrannical Richard II is knocked from his throne, and Henry IV is crowned, despite a shaky claim to the throne.

Knight Matthew Hart, now in his sixties, believes he can retire to a quiet life in the wilds of Cumbria while Lancelot and Janey’s love remains more the stuff of Romances than reality.

Yet, all too soon, England’s lords grow restless, betrayal is in the air, and Matthew and his family must again ride into battle on behalf of their endangered king.

The fates of all the characters who grace the Knights of England series, spanning a century—including some of the most vivid battles, events and historical characters in medieval history—are resolved.

Publisher’s Note: Readers with a passion for history will appreciate the author’s penchant for detail and accuracy. In keeping with the era, this story contains scenes of brutality which are true to the time and man’s timeless inhumanity. There are a limited number of sexual scenes and NO use of modern vulgarity.

From the Author: There is nothing new under the sun. If we seek to understand today’s events, history will always provide the answer. By 1398 the megalomaniacal Richard II had consolidated his power, executed or banished all his enemies and destroyed all those who might speak out in opposition to him. Two years later Richard was deposed, thrown into a dungeon in Pontefract Castle and starved to death.

Lessons: We can never predict the future; actions always have unintended consequences; we sow the seeds of our own destruction and payback’s a bitch!

THE KNIGHTS OF ENGLAND, in series order
The Lion and the Leopard
A Knight There Was
Within A Forest Dark
A Child Upon The Throne
Lords Among the Ruins
The Flames of Rebellion

Mary Ellen Johnson’s writing career was sparked by her passion for Medieval England. Her first medieval historical, The Lion and the Leopard, was followed by The Landlord’s Black-Eyed Daughter, a historical novel based on the Alfred Noyes poem, “The Highwayman.” (Published under the pseudonym, Mary Ellen Dennis.) Landlord was chosen as one of the top 100 historical romances of 2013.

After taking a twenty year detour in a quixotic quest to change the world--rather like Arthurian knights’ quests to find the holy grail, which ended in similar failure--Mary Ellen has happily returned to historical fiction writing and her favorite time period, the tumultuous fourteenth century. Her five book series, Knights of England, follows the fortunes of the characters (and their progeny) introduced in The Lion and the Leopard through the Black Death, the reign of that most gloriously medieval of monarchs, Edward III, the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, and ends with the deposition and murder of Richard II in 1399.

There is nothing Mary Ellen loves more than bringing Medieval England alive for the reader. She particularly enjoys researching battles, campaigns, the daily lives of both lord and peasant, and trying to figure out our ancestors’ thought processes, particularly how they viewed their world. Oh, and did she mention the castles and cathedrals? Mary Ellen likes to say her favorite place in all the world is standing before the tomb of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral. (Hyperbole, of course, since Mary Ellen is not that well-traveled and her favorite places are probably wherever her kids and grandkids reside.)

However--and the very recounting gives her chills--a distant cousin recently shared the results of her years-long genealogical research on the family tree. When flipping back and back through the centuries, Mary Ellen began finding names that were hauntingly familiar--John of Gaunt, Edward the Black Prince, Edward II, Edward III, even Richard the Lionheart! All the historical characters she’s spent a lifetime reading and writing about! How can that be? Genetic memory? Reincarnation? She has no idea but you can bet she’ll be exploring the possibilities in future novels!

In the meantime, Mary Ellen hopes you’ll enjoy reading The Lion and the Leopard, A Knight There Was, Within a Forest Dark and Lords Among the Ruins as much as she’s enjoyed writing them.